


Life And Love in Nintendwood

by Sir_Skullian



Category: Super Mario Bros. (Video Games)
Genre: Adult Themes, Alcohol, Commissioned Work, Drug Use, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Implied abuse, Movie Star AU, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-02
Updated: 2021-03-05
Packaged: 2021-03-09 18:07:25
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 17,901
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27830491
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sir_Skullian/pseuds/Sir_Skullian
Summary: Bowser is tired of being seen as the Villain, and what's more, he's had a crush on his co-star Peach for the longest time. But when he let's this secret out during an afterparty to his best friend Luigi, he's encouraged to go for broke and try to win her over.Movie Star AU. Commissioned by Anonymous
Relationships: Koopa | Bowser & Luigi (Nintendo), Koopa | Bowser/Peach-hime | Peach Toadstool
Comments: 6
Kudos: 27





	1. The Afterparty

**Author's Note:**

> A couple of things up front:
> 
> First off, this is an AU where the main cast of the Super Mario Games are instead Actors in a series of popular films rather than being from Video Games. As such they might do or be around people who do things you would expect the Hollywood elite to do. That includes nudity, drug and alcohol use, potential abuse and more, so please take that into consideration now.
> 
> Second, while this first chapter is mostly straight-laced, things won't remain like that forever, so if you're a younger reader please stop reading now.
> 
> And Thirdly, this work was commissioned by a user who wishes to remain anonymous. If you want to commission your own work, check the notes at the end of this story for more information!
> 
> Thank you all in advance, and I hope you enjoy.

Bowser rested his large, reptilian body against the backwall of the party space as he nursed his thick, alcohol laden drink, the thumping of the bass from some new and popular techno song blasting all around him and keeping him from ever truly holding still. Bowser had been to many such parties like this in his lengthy career as an actor, but he’d long ago stopped celebrating the success of him and his cohorts. He was here more out of obligation if anything at this point…

That’s not to say he hated his craft; Bowser very much enjoyed what he did for a living, loved many of the people he’d spent the last 30 years with, and wouldn’t trade it for anything in the world. Being an actor was what he felt gave him purpose in an otherwise random and chaotic world and being able to share that with not only those he’d grown close to in his line of work but with the world gave him endless joy. What he lamented was…this. While he was proud of how their latest film Odyssey turned out, it was hard to feel like any of this was meant for him.

Hanging all around him were decorations themed after the film in question, with streamers, confetti, table settings and more all emblazoned with that familiar Red and Blue color scheme. Posters from the film showcasing iconic scenes were hung on every wall, all of them in some way featuring the film’s main hero, the Princess herself or even a few sides characters with bit parts in the story, but not a single one with Bowser on the cover as the main focus.

Bowser had spent the last 30 years of his career as the villain in a series of films simply known as Super Mario Bros. There had been 20 some films over the years, with the same actors returning to reprise their roles as some of Nintendwood’s most iconic characters. The brave and ever loyal hero Mario, along with his friends and allies, faces the dangers of the nefarious villain Bowser and his army of minions, all in a bid to save the fair Princess Peach of the Mushroom Kingdom. The actual details of the films would change with each picture, but the three of them being constant characters within these stories has rarely if ever changed.

But in spite of the overall plots never really straying too far from this basic set up, the fans and critics still eat it up. The creative worlds, engaging action, unique twists and everything else about Director Miyamoto’s vision that each film produced is enough for most to be satisfied, leading to the Super Mario anthology of films being some of the most prominent and beloved in the world. But fame like that has its drawbacks…especially when you’re the villain.

Sure, there were times where Bowser would team up with Mario and the gang against some much larger threat for a film or two, but then it always ended up being a battle between the two over the Princess. No matter how many times they do this dance, it always comes back to Bowser kidnapping Peach and fighting off Mario, and as such, the world sees him only as the Villain.

Bowser was tired of being treated as the Villain, both in film and out in the real world. In the films was one thing, where when the cameras stopped rolling everyone on set could all go back to being friends. But out on the street, with people he didn’t know, he noticed things. Things like people avoiding eye contact with him, hushed tones and whispers on the air as they passed him by saying how scary he was in person or that they should try and walk a bit faster, maybe even cross the street to get as much between them and him as they could. Bowser wasn’t a Villain in real life, but after so many years of portraying himself as one…it was hard to really blame them.

Bowser pushed himself clumsily off the wall as he put on his best fake smile, walking around the party once more as the song changed to something a bit more up tempo. He glanced around him at all the familiar faces of crew members and fellow actors, all celebrating and partying like they had all just done a ton of mushrooms. And based on how some of them were acting, he was sure that was the case.

The dance floor in the center of the room was alive with movement, the lights and sounds blaring from the DJ booth at the far end of the hall adding to the already high energy levels of the party. The bar off to the right was packed with patrons, the crew of workers assigned to serve drinks working overtime to keep everyone happy. And to the left were various tables and private booths for those who wanted to have a break from the partying, and as Bowser spied a familiar green cap among the crowd in the tables, his smile turned genuine as he made his way over to one of his oldest friends.

In the 30 plus years they’d been working together, Luigi was one of the only people that Bowser thought never looked at him like he was a Villain. They were the best of friends, and both of them had a lot in common outside of just acting. On top of being fans of tennis and golf, Luigi and Bowser shared a distinct amount of contempt for Mario, Luigi’s older brother and Bowser’s film rival.

But to hear Mario say it, Luigi was a screw-up and Bowser was a no-good snake, both on and off set. Mario was a braggadocious megalomaniac who had been riding his high as the king of Nintendwood for years, and he could get just about anything he wanted regardless of the cost. Money, roles outside of these films, women; He wanted it all and more, but his greatest prize had always been his constant girlfriend Peach.

Peach initially got the role as the Princess in the films by accident. Miyamoto had had to scramble last minute when the original actor to play the Princess, Pauline, Mario’s girlfriend at the time, stepped down to pursue what she called “higher art.” As soon as it turned out that “higher art” meant sleeping with guys on camera, Mario broke things off with her in a very public manner, but that didn’t stop Pauline from living the high life as Nintendwood’s big beauty queen.

Bowser would’ve been lying if he said Pauline wasn’t attractive. Everyone thought so, and despite the initial controversy of her more scandalous career move, she was and still very much is the absolute Super Star of Nintendwood. She didn’t need to appear in movies anymore to get people, especially men, bowing at her feet, but she did anyways for the thrill of it. She starred in movies of all kinds, both for adults and otherwise, and she very much got whatever or whoever she wanted.

Of course, Pauline moving away from the Mario Bros films caused quite a problem for the then in production Super Mario Bros. Movie, the follow up to Director Miyamoto’s previous smash hit Donkey Kong. Good thing everything worked out with Peach; she came in as this shy young woman with no major acting credits to her name and came out a star among stars. She portrayed the innocent and lovely Princess with an air of expertise so eloquently crafted you might think she actually was royalty, but she was as down to earth as anyone Bowser had ever met. The two had spent the years talking in between takes, sharing their hopes and dreams with one another, and Bowser couldn’t help but feel that there was some kind of connection between them.

But then along comes Mario, Mr. Swagger himself swooping Peach off her feet with jewels, cars, international trips to exotic locations and more, and soon the rumors spread throughout the tabloids that Mario and Peach were an item. Bowser was positive that Mario had leaked the details to the press for the publicity boost, and that irritated Bowser to no end. Not just because he was effectively using Peach to make himself look better, but because Peach was a wonderful, loving person who didn’t deserve that kind of treatment.

She was always so full of life and energy, always on the move either modeling the latest fall fashion or doing guest appearances in other works, but she always made time for her friends. Her and Daisy were basically inseparable, and once a week she still invited over a bunch of the cast and crew to come and hang out at her place. Or at least she did until Mario decided to put an end to it, blaming Bowser for breaking his new grill when he hadn’t even been near the thing the whole night.

Bowser slumped down into an oversized chair next to Luigi with a loud grunt of disapproval as Mario entered his head once, and Luigi acknowledged him with a chuckle.

“Thinking about that dumb grill again, Bowz?” Luigi asked as he took a sip of his beer, twitching his mustache to try and shake off some of the foam.

“Is it that obvious?”

“You only ever grunt like that when you’re thinking about that stupid overpriced grill,” Luigi said as he finally turned to his friend. “It’s still bullshit that he pinned you on that, by the way. Everyone knows it was that drunk off his ass Bullet Bill but leave it to my brother to find some way to blame one of us.”

“And yet Bill was somehow higher up on the invite list than I was.”

“You and me both, man,” Luigi said extending his glass to Bowser. Bowser clinked his drink appropriately and the two of them drank, staring ahead at the party for a long while. The dancers in front of them gave them something to focus on, and as they watched the hypnotic rhythm of the night unfold before them, Bowser could swear he saw flashed of pink within the crowd.

He strained his eyes and watched as the crowd seemed to part before him, and there dancing alongside Daisy and having the time of her life was Peach, as beautiful and lively as ever in her tight-fitting pink party dress. Bowser watched her move to the beat of the music, occasionally bumping hips with Daisy as the two laughed and enjoyed themselves fully, and he wished deeply that that could someday be him.

“You see that Mario invited Pauline to be his guest of honor?”

“He did?” Bowser asked as he looked around, eventually finding Mario standing next to the DJ Booth with Pauline practically hanging off of him.

“Makes sense, I suppose,” Luigi said curtly. “She did have a pretty big role in this movie, after all…”

“Yeah, that and Mario isn’t exactly known for not having someone like that hanging off his every word.” Bowser stated with a bit of venom, him and Luigi sharing a chuckle as they looked over the crowd some more.

While the two had broken up some years back, Mario and Pauline could never really lose touch given they were two of the biggest stars in Nintendwood, and every so often rumors of Mario sleeping around would surface again. It happened twice when Daisy and Rosalina were brought in as additional Princesses to help flesh out the world of the films a bit more, and it always happened anytime Mario was seen hanging out with Pauline.

Bowser growled low to himself as he watched the two touching and teasing one another, doing everything except outright fucking right then and there for everyone to see. He didn’t blame Pauline, of course; she was just a victim of Mario’s influence in all of this, and he probably had some kind of leverage on her to make her do all this. Either that or she had some kind of genuine attraction towards him, but just based on some of the conversations he’d had with her, he knew that wasn’t true.

Even so, she was still throwing herself at him like a horny high schooler on prom night, and it sickened him to think that the two of them would do that to Peach. Peach didn’t seem to mind Mario playing around, though; she was still just off in her own little world along with Daisy, and as Bowser’s attention slowly turned back to Peach, their eyes met for the briefest of moments.

She looked at him with that same smile she shared with everyone, but as the seconds went by and she still looked at him, it changed only slightly. To an outside observer it would look like just another smile from a beautiful woman, but spend enough time with anyone and you notice those little changes that matter. The way her eyes flashed with glee; how the corners of her lips turned upwards just that extra little bit to show genuine joy; how she seemed more focused on him than anything else around her.

She gave him a quick little wave before returning to dancing with Daisy, Bowser returning the wave regardless.

“Makes you sick, doesn’t it? Watching him do shit like that when he’s ‘dating’ Peach…?” Luigi said as he finished his drink, still staring at Mario and Pauline as they make for behind the curtain to be in private.

Bowser followed his line of sight and scoffed, looking back down at his drink instead. “Let him do whatever he wants. Not like we can really do anything about that egomaniac.”

“You said it, brother,” Luigi said with a frown. “You know I even tried getting our mom involved at one point? He was always such a momma’s boy I thought it might do something, but turns out he’d gotten to her too…New car, house…damn son of a Yoshi even managed to find her a new boyfriend!”

“Just sick…How does someone that… _depraved_ get to be the biggest star in the world?!”

“Can’t tell ya man…playing second fiddle to a guy like that for so long you’d think I might have an idea of how he does it, but here I am…the perpetual player two. Even when I first struck out on my own that bastard had to interfere and pushed himself into the picture, saying it would fail without him and _insisting_ it should be named after _him_! Mario is Missing…what a fucking joke! Whole thing was ruined by his meddling; I’m lucky to have anything close to a career after that fiasco.”

“Oh yeah, you just wrapped on that one film…what’s it called, Luigi’s Manor?”

“Mansion,” Luigi corrected him with a smirk. “You have to know that by now, man. You were _in_ the first one!”

“Was I?” Bowser asked with genuine confusion. “Man, we’ve done so much together that I can’t keep track of what I have and haven’t been in anymore! All I know is you mentioned you were reluctant to work alongside that one guy for this film…what’s his name, Gooigi?!”

“His real name is Frank, but he came up with that name for the role. Insisted that it would help us better bond or some weird shit like that…Guy gives me the creeps, but the film turned out okay, so whatever.”

Bowser wanted to ask more, but the sudden lack of music caused him to turn his attention away from his friend towards the stage. “Guh…every time.”

Mario took the stage with his usual sense of overconfident swagger, relishing in the applause as he acted humble and undeserving. Bowser rolled his eyes before Mario began to finally calm the crowd down, bringing the mic up to his mouth as he began to give his usual celebration speech.

“How’s everybody a-doing tonight, eh?” Mario asked in his typical show-offish manner, the crowd cheering at his words. Bowser, to this day, had no idea why Mario insisted on using his character voice whenever he spoke in public, but it made Mario look like a moron every time, so Bowser took the little victory by letting him make more of a fool of himself. “Doing good, I hope! Especially you, A-Bullet Bill, you old so-and-a-so! Ha ha!”

Mario jumped up into the air, striking his signature jump pose to raucous applause, as he elevated himself higher up onto the stage so everyone in the room could better see him. “Oh, but please, everybody. I love-a the praise, but you can’t praise me alone! So many hard-working a-people came a-together to make this beautiful film, and I wanted to take just a moment of your time to say thanks.”

Mario grabbed a glass of champagne he had nearby, raising it up as he turned his attention towards the back of the room. “First of all, I would-a like to say thanks to our fantastic director, A-Mr. Miyamoto-San, who-a got us all onto this crazy ride all those a-years ago in the first place!”

An older Japanese man stood up near the back of the crowd, waving at those around him who gave him a smattering of applause. He wore a friendly smile beneath a mop of shaggy black hair, the wrinkles on his face showing his considerable age. He looked like someone you could easily share your greatest dreams with, and for the last 30 years, he’d been sharing his dreams with the world.

“Next, I want to thank all the a-new talent that came along and helped us to make this one of the best films to date! Let’s a-hear it for the Extras!”

Off to the left side of the crowd, a small gathering of weird and random looking individuals whooped and cheered as Mario directed everyone’s attention towards them. They came in all shapes and sizes, comprising of many of the smaller roles from the variety of kingdoms that were featured in the film. As part of some inside joke that Bowser was only partly aware of, they all came dressed in their outfits from the shoot, with some wearing actual suits that turned them into the various creatures and monsters from the various worlds, while more than half of them stood smiling in their blue or green mocap suits. They stuck out from the rest of the crowd, and that was more than fine with them.

“But you guys only had a small role a-to play so let’s move on!” Mario said with a laugh. “Next, how could I not give a shout out to the breakout star of the film, Pauline?!”

Pauline stepped out from behind the curtain, very clearly having recently adjusted her hair and attire like it hadn’t been on a minute ago. She waved to the fans and stood next to Mario for a few moments for a photo op before stepping down, blowing Mario a kiss as she made her way through the crowd and down towards the bar. Bowser chanced a look over at Peach to gauge her reaction, but she was lost somewhere in the crowd.

“Beautiful, isn’t she? How are you still a-single, huh?!” Mario chuckled again, clearly enjoying his own jokes a little too much. “Speaking of a-beautiful, Peachy baby, where are you, darling?!”

Mario scanned the crowd and expressed his happiness when Peach began walking up the stairs onto the stage, waving at everyone and very clearly making a point to avoid looking at Mario. He seemed visibly irritated by that but brushed it off, instead returning to the adoration of the crowd.

“Without our stunning leading lady here, _none_ of us would-a be here today! She deserves the _world_ and more, and we cannot thank you enough for being an ever-present part of our lives, my dear!” He grabbed her hand and made a show of kissing it, a long and drawn out “aww” emanating from the crowd as Peach merely stared at him, as fake a smile as Bowser had ever seen adorning her face. Mario hung there for a good long moment before returning to the crowd, smiling wide.

“And…of course…I would be remised to not mention the big guy.”

Bowser’s head lifted at the comment. Was this finally going to be the time he’d acknowledge him in one of his speeches? After all these years?

“I am, of a-course, talking about yours truly, y’all! Let’s give it up for _ME_!!” The crowd went wild as Mario shot his arms out to the side, Bowser merely scowling. “Now what do you say we cut the talking and a-let’s get back to the a-party, eh? Next round is on me!”

The crowd cheered even louder as a significant portion of them went towards the bar, the distressed looks of the bartenders not deterring any of them. Bowser stood with a grunt as he watched Peach being pulled backstage by Mario, a sad look on her face as she disappeared behind the curtain.

“Where are you going?” Luigi asked, sounding worried.

“Figured you and I could use some new drinks,” Bowser said with a snarl, motioning towards Luigi’s emptied glass and what was left of his that he’d crushed in his frustration. “Might as well take advantage of the great and glorious Mario’s _gratitude_ while it’s still just that. I’ll be right back.”

He turned just as swiftly as when he’d stood, only this time he bumped into something. Or rather someone, evidenced by the soft sound of surprise and the now spilled drink on the floor. Bowser looked down with shock to find Pauline standing there, looking a little upset but otherwise alright.

“Well, there goes that Cosmopolitan,” Pauline quipped, smirking up at Bowser with that signature Man-killer smile. “At least you had the common courtesy to not spill it on me like some rom com cliché.”

“Pauline, I am so sorry! I was actually headed to the bar right now; I can get you another one and-”

Pauline chuckled, holding up a hand. “You’re sweet, big man, but I think I’ll be fine. This is your big night to celebrate, you shouldn’t be waiting on a girl like me. You should be out on that dance floor tearing it up!”

“I’m, uh…not much of a dancer, actually,” Bowser said as he kneeled down and began cleaning up the shards of glass. “Plus you were in the movie too; this is supposed to be as much your party as it is mine. You were great in the role, by the way.”

“Oh honey, you give me too good of credit. It was a bit part at best.”

“Not at all!” Bowser said, putting the glass shards aside. “You are a very confident person with a sense of authority, and you really showed that in this performance. I honestly can’t think of anyone else who would have been the Mayor of New Donk City! Plus, that song you wrote for that New Donk City Celebration part; It’s _still_ stuck in my head.”

“Don’t tell anyone, but uh…” Pauline said with a sly smile as she leaned in close; Bowser could smell the rose perfume she was wearing and found it rather relaxing. “It was actually Toadette who wrote the song. I told her I’d get her a date with Donkey Kong if she wrote a song for me, and she did such a good job that I absolutely had to fulfill my end of the bargain. Take a look.”

She pointed off towards a dark secluded corner of the room, where if you squinted just right you could see the large, imposing figure of Donkey Kong seated across from the much smaller Toadette, the two laughing to themselves about something one of them had said. It was an odd pairing, but stranger things had happened in Nintendwood…

“Well I’ll be damned. Never thought DK would want to get with anyone after what happened between him and Candy.”

“Well believe it. That Kong’s finally ready to get back on the horse, or I guess on the Toadette if you catch my drift.” Pauline eyed Bowser for a moment before smiling. “Who’re you seeing these days, Big Guy? Got some sweet little Candy of your own that you’re keeping all to yourself?”

“Oh ha, no. I’m uh…There’s certainly someone I’d _like_ to be with, but things are…complicated.” His eyes drifted back towards the curtain for a brief moment as he listened to Pauline click her tongue.

“Such a shame. Big strong guy like you; you could have whoever you wanted in all of Nintendwood, I’m sure.”

Bowser blushed, rubbing the back of his head as he tried to shy away from Pauline. “That’s, um…very nice to hear someone say, Pauline, especially from you. I mean, you’re basically the Queen of Nintendwood, so I assume you can get whoever you wanted too.”

“You better believe it, darling,” Pauline said softly, staring into Bowser’s very soul. “And after this movie officially premieres, you bet your ass I’ll be swimming in new lovers in no time. Here’s hoping at least one of them has anything _close_ to the girth you’re sure to be rocking!”

She let out a loud laugh that Bowser tried to match, but he was always afraid of laughing too loud in crowds. He didn’t want to potentially scare anyone.

“Well hey, it was great to catch up like this,” Bowser said after a moment, looking over towards the bar. “But I was actually on my way to the bar to get drinks for me and Luigi. You sure I can’t grab you anything?”

“She’s already got one, you big lummox.” Bowser cringed as Mario walked up carrying two drinks, one of them a frilly looking fruit drink for Pauline who gladly accepted it. “What’re you a-doing talking with this fire-breathing blowhard, anyways, Pauline? Don’t you know being too close to toads can give you warts?”

Mario pulled Pauline away with a laugh, Pauline signing for Bowser to call her as he watched them go. He wanted to snipe back with some witty retort but came up short, and rather than give into his rage he calmed himself with some quick breathing exercises before getting drinks from the bar. Drinks that took forever to be prepared and that he had to pay for, of course; It wouldn’t be Mario if his all inclusive “drinks for everyone” proclamation didn’t have some level of restrictions designed just to spite him.

Bowser walked back to the chair next to Luigi with drinks he was way over charged for, Luigi waving him over from beneath Daisy’s imposing figure sitting on his lap. She greeted Bowser with a friendly hello as he sat; she was always nice to him as well, and Bowser still wasn’t sure if that was because she was dating his best friend or because she actually liked him. Either way he didn’t mind.

“How’s it going, Bowser-Babe?” Daisy asked with a slight slur, hinting at just how much she’d had to drink that night. Daisy could usually hold her own, and if she was even slightly slurring her words, it means she was in deep.

“It’s uh…it’s going, Daisy,” Bowser said with a huff as he tried avoiding looking in their immediate direction. He wasn’t averse to public displays of affection, but sometimes Daisy would get a bit handsy and shameless for how public they were, especially when she’d been drinking. “Just kind of…you know, chilling.”

“He he. If you were chilling you guys would be in a freezer, silly!”

“Too true, babe,” Luigi said with a chuckle, gently helping Daisy off his lap. “How’s about you leave this bleeding heart to me, Daisy? Don’t want to ruin the fun you’re having.”

“Oh, Weegee baby, you’re sooooo thoughtful!” Daisy said as she leaned down, planting her lips onto Luigi’s for a big kiss. She pressed off him with more than a little force, smiling and winking to Luigi and Bowser before she twirled and returned to the dance floor, looking for the first person who looked fun enough to party with to dance with her.

“She’s the light of my life, Bowser,” Luigi said as they watched her dance, shaking her hips and whooping along to the beats pumping out of the industrial sized speakers. “Just gives me so much joy to know that she chose me out of everyone out there.”

“I hear ya, man,” Bowser said sadly, staring into his drink. “Wish I had that with someone…”

“Hey, Big man,” Luigi began, turning his full attention towards his friend. “You know there’s gotta be someone out there for you. It’s a hell of a big world that we live in.”

“Maybe you’re right,” Bowser said as his gaze turned back towards the stage just in time to watch Peach walk out from behind the curtain looking upset. She stormed down the stage and right up to Daisy, pulling the party girl away from the Shy Guy she’d been dancing with and into a back corner of the room. “Thing is…I might already have my eyes on someone…”

“Thought I heard you mention something like that to Pauline,” Luigi said. “You gotta tell me who it is, man! Always wanted to try and be your wingman.”

“No no,” Bowser said with a chuckle, his gaze still fixated in Peach’s direction. “Not sure that that’s how things’ll happen between us.”

“Well at least tell me who it is,” Luigi said as he looked in the direction of Bowser’s gaze. “I might know something that could…”

Bowser looked down at Luigi as he went quiet, only to find him sitting there staring past him with his eyes wide and jaw slack. “You…You okay, Luigi?”

“Are you telling me…” Luigi began, his gaze slowly turning up towards Bowser as he pointed towards the girls. “That you are in love with _Peach_?!”

Bowser’s eyes went wide as his face flushed. He began babbling nonsense trying to find something to say, but Luigi’s growing smile and his own inability to say anything was confirming everything for his green clad friend.

“You’re in love with Peach!” Luigi giddily shouted; Bowser was thankful for the extreme volume of the music to keep most everyone in the room from hearing. “How the hell have you been keeping this from me?! Dude this is _awesome_!”

“No it’s not!” Bowser said as he turned his swiftly reddening face away from Luigi, taking another big sip of his drink.

“What are you talking about, man?!” Luigi asked, getting up out of his chair to follow Bowser’s turning head. “You and Peach would be a _perfect_ couple! You spend a lot of time together, you already get along so well, you have a lot in common, and best of all it would really stick it to Mario! What’s the problem?!”

“Really?” Bowser asked curtly. “On top of the fact that she’s ‘technically’ dating Mario, you do realize it’s ME that you’re talking to, right?! I mean… _look_ at me! Why would someone as beautiful and amazing as Peach possibly want to be with a giant monster like me?!”

“Uh, maybe because she likes you back and that wouldn’t matter to her?” Luigi said as he returned to his seat, making sure Bowser’s gaze followed him. “You’re too hard on yourself, man, and I can tell you right now that Peach adores you.”

“You can?”

“Of course! Daisy tells me all the time about how Peach goes on and on about you! Daisy’s never told me anything about how Peach likes you back or anything specific like that, but a woman like Peach wouldn’t talk about you that much if she wasn’t at least a little interested, you get me?”

Bowser looked back towards Peach and Daisy just in time to watch them return to the dance floor, Peach looking decidedly more upbeat and relaxed than before. Bowser rested his head on his hand as he watched them dance, merely enjoying watching her as a smile slowly crept up onto his face.

“I can see what you mean…It actually feels kind of good to talk about this finally…”

“So tell me more,” Luigi said with a smile. Bowser chuckled; Luigi was always there to play therapist, and it’s one of the reasons he liked being friends with him so much, coming to him with his troubles and being received as a friend. “When did you first realize you liked her as more than just a co-star?”

“Well, I guess it all started sometime after 64, that 3D movie we did in ’96?”

“Damn, man! That long?!”

“Yeah…Something about our time together during that production…things just clicked in my head. We didn’t even have any real scenes together or anything, but we both had a lot of downtime between takes and just spent our time talking. It’s where I first learned that she liked to bake. It was the first time I had the chance to speak with someone about my childhood without it being dismissed or laughed at. It was where…I started to feel less like a monster.”

Bowser chuckled to himself for a moment, a faint smile coming across his face. “You remember when we did Sunshine, and there was that plot thread where Bowser Jr thought Peach was supposed to be his Momma? I still don’t know why Director Miyamoto went along with it since it made absolutely no sense in the context of the story…but that was my idea. I wanted an excuse to spend more time with Peach…and that seemed like as good an idea as any.

“I’m fine with playing the role of the Villain,” Bowser said as he turned back towards Luigi. “Playing the Villain is something I’m good at…but more importantly, it gives me a chance to be closer to her. Even if it’s only in the context of a film…I just hope that she enjoys those moments together as much as I do…”

Luigi smiled up at him, patting his large arm comfortingly. “Well I can tell you this for sure, Big man…We both know she sure as hell doesn’t like spending time with Mario!”

Bowser and Luigi shared a hearty laugh as they sat there for a while, watching Peach and Daisy dance as the party slowly began to die down around them. Luigi got up after a brief silence to get them both new drinks, managing to come back much quicker than Bowser could thanks to the thinning crowd, and as they sat down, Luigi began addressing Bowser once more.

“You know…I was terrified when I first asked out Daisy. She was this incredible woman who was absolutely out of my league, and yet when I asked her out she said yes. Turns out that she had wanted to ask _me_ out too, but was afraid that because I was Mario’s brother that I would think dating her would be beneath me. Both of us were scared by some semblance of public perception, and when I had the courage to finally just go in and speak my piece, it worked out for the better.”

“What’re you trying to say?” Bowser asked softly.

“I’m saying that if you and Peach are meant to be together, you’ll end up together,” Luigi said with a smile. “Just because you’re a giant monster looking guy and she’s an attractive woman doesn’t mean you two can’t make things work. If it’s really what you want, then you have to admit that to yourself and commit to making it happen.”

“Wow…when did you get to be so wise?” Bowser asked with a chuckle.

“I’ve always been this smart,” Luigi said with a flair of arrogance. “You’ve just been too busy ogling over Peach apparently to notice.”

“I’m not gonna hear the end of this until I actually do something about it, am I?”

“Would I really be your friend if I didn’t pester you about it?”

Bowser smiled. “No, I suppose not.” Bowser stood and thanked Luigi for the advice, saying that he wanted to get home. He quickly finished his drink, belching out a small little fireball as he did, and as he made for the exit, he chanced a look back at Peach one last time.

To his surprise and delight she was watching him leave, and as she saw him place his hand on the door, she gave him a soft smile and a wave. Bowser smiled and waved back, heading out into the chilly Nintendwood night as he made his way home. In three days they’d start shooting their next big project, and he needed all the time he could muster to come up with a plan.

At first, Bowser thought about approaching Peach outside of the studio, going to her place and confronting her about his feelings for her. But that would almost certainly end in disaster; ever since Sunshine, Mario had moved himself into Peach’s place, and thanks to his team of guards he wouldn’t even be able to make it past the front gate, let alone the front door.

He then thought about doing some grand romantic gesture, something like sending her a dozen roses in Peach Pink every day or writing her a declaration of love through poetry. But everything he thought of ran into the same roadblock; Mario. Bowser wasn’t exactly sure, but he was pretty confident that Mario would screen her calls and mail, keeping anything he didn’t think she should see away from her, so anything he might send would inevitably get caught in Mario’s grasp.

So Bowser decided to leave. He had three days to figure out what he could do, and if he couldn’t…well he still wanted to be rested up for the next shoot. After the incredible success that Odyssey was undoubtedly going to be, he could only imagine what new and exciting plans Director Miyamoto had in store for the next project.


	2. The Unexpected

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bowser returns to the studio lot to learn about their next big project, only to learn about an unexpected change to the established formula.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope y'all enjoy this next chapter!

Bowser rubbed his temples vigorously as he headed for the Nintendwood Studios entrance, already bracing himself for the inevitable barrage of paparazzi that always hounded him whenever he returned to the studio after a hiatus between projects. While normally they would just harass him to try and get him to break, they had some particularly juicy ammo to try and sling his way now thanks to Mario…He usually didn’t try to drink when he was on hiatus, reserving that for the rare occasion he was invited to a party, but dealing with Mario’s constant trashing of him can sometimes lead him to the bottle.

Normally Bowser wouldn’t let it bother him, chalking it up to Mario’s insecurities or him just being a jackass like he always is. But he just had to start poking his stupid nose where it didn’t belong, and during a recent interview with sports and music celebrity duo Pearl and Marina for their new film focused podcast, he decided to drop one hell of a salacious and downright evil rumor.

It all started when Marina asked him about Odyssey…

“ _So Mario_ ,” She’d asked innocently enough. “ _What do you think was the most challenging thing to overcome when filming Odyssey?”_

“ _Well, Marina, with any a-film there’s always going to be challenges_ ,” Mario said as smugly as ever. “ _Whether it be a-having to do multiple takes to get a stunt to land or having to try over and over to get that line of a-dialogue to be just right was daunting. But probably the biggest challenge was the script change that resulted in Bowser trying to a-marry the Princess. That was a big shock, let me tell you_ …”

“ _Wait, that wasn’t how it was from the start_?!” You could hear the genuine shock in Pearl’s voice as she asked it, and Mario merely chuckled in response before elaborating.

“ _Uh huh! It was a last-minute script change! And while I don’t have much to go off of,_ _I’m pretty sure the only-a reason that Bowser was going to be-a marrying Peach in Odyssey was a-because he’s the one who made the script change! So chalk it up to old lizard breath for yet another annoyance with a-making these movies, I guess!_ ”

Those damn words had been ringing around in his head ever since they were said three days ago, and now he was dealing with the entirely falsified fallout. Bowser had been just as surprised by the reveal that his plan was to marry Peach in the latest film, but for Mario to outright claim that it was Bowser’s idea was more than he could handle. Not only because it cast false claims his way, but also because of his crush on Peach and the anxiety that came with Mario possibly knowing about it.

Almost the second he’d said it – the podcast airs live so of course it was an almost instant reaction – he’d been flooded with calls from reporters and paparazzi trying to confirm whether or not it was true. He did his best to try and quell the masses, giving statement after statement that it hadn’t been his call and it hadn’t happened as late into production as Mario had implied, but it was all for not. The Media wanted their scandalous story, and no matter how truthful Bowser was they would rather hang on Mario’s every word than give him a chance to get a say in edgewise. The number of calls he was receiving got to be so bad that he couldn’t even sleep, and in order to try and shut the voices off, he ended up shoved all the calls onto his overworked assistant and turned to his old faithful friend tequila.

And now he was dealing with the backlash of that decision, his head throbbing as he turned the corner towards the infamous bright red gates of the Nintendwood studio lot. He let out a deep, beleaguered sigh as he beheld the chaos unfolding in front of him, cursing Mario yet again as he begrudgingly sauntered forward towards the growing crowd of paparazzi that the security team was denying entry into the lot. If he was lucky, none of them would notice him until he was much closer, and he wouldn’t have to deal with being hounded by questions.

“There he is!” One of the paparazzi shouted as he rushed forward, camera raised as he flashed a few photos. A few other members of the group heard his cry and bolted towards him, the realization hitting the group in waves until he was practically swarmed by each and every one of them hoping to somehow get an exclusive photo or quote.

“Is it true that you requested the changes to the script for Odyssey?”

“Are you going to confront Mario about his source?”

“What makes you think you have a shot with someone as stunning as Peach?”

All these questions and more came flooding towards him, some that stung more than others to be heard, but he didn’t give into their obvious attempts at poking and prodding him. He’d learned long ago that these vultures would say or do anything to get him to react in just the way they wanted him to, usually lashing out in anger so they could snap a photo, and he’d learned some simple meditation exercises to avoid them.

Control your breathing. Shut out all negative noise. Remain focused on the goal at hand.

So while they bombarded him with questions, many of which were laced with attempts at breaking him, he merely walked up to the gate, waved to the Security Guard, and walked into the relatively more peaceful chaos of the Nintendwood Studios lot as he headed for Studio 4.

At least the chaos inside these walls he could understand and empathize with; actors, directors, set designers and more all moving around the lot at their own paces, all in the hopes of finishing their productions of time so they could make the next big film or show. It was a chaos that he felt comfortable with, one that he’d spent the last nearly 40 years of his life surrounded by, and there was rarely anything that surprised him anymore.

So when he finally made it to Studio 4, he was actually a little surprised to see some familiar yet unexpected faces. Link, Captain Falcon, Fox McCloud, Samus and a few other notable stars from other Nintendwood franchise films were in attendance, all chatting with one another or the incredibly diverse Mario Bros. cast. The last time Bowser had seen a crowd this big was when they had announced they would be making that experimental 3D film back in the late 90’s, one of the first of its kind, and despite the many problems they had putting it together it had turned out to be a massive hit.

Bowser merely did what he always did when confronted with the unexpected; kept his mouth shut and acted like it didn’t bother him. He smiled and waved accordingly, addressed those he got along with like Ganondorf or Samus, and finally made his way to his personalized folding chair to await the news about what the next big project from Director Miyamoto would bring.

Scattered out in front of Bowser were several other cast members, each engaged in their own conversations. Mario was up near the front surrounded by adoring fans, all of whom also happened to be cast members, and Bowser rolled his eyes so hard he was afraid they may fall out. But what surprised Bowser most about the assorted group were those hanging out near the back, with cameras and microphones…Bowser couldn’t recall a time when the press had been invited to one of these meetings, so something big must be happening, right? Well at least they weren’t badgering him for a quote or anything, so he let his guard down a bit.

Soon enough he spotted Luigi, who was seated ready and waiting in his own chair next to Bowser’s. He couldn’t help but chuckle to himself as he noticed how much food Luigi had managed to snag from the craft services table, with one large plate full of food he was picking at on his lap and another on the chair beside him. As Bowser sat into his chair Luigi offered him the second plate full of things he knew Bowser enjoyed, and Bowser gladly accepted.

“About time you showed up,” Luigi said coyly. “I was starting to worry that Mario’s latest rumor bob-omb had actually blown up in your face.”

“Ha,” Bowser mocked as he took a bite of a sandwich off the plate Luigi had offered him. “It’ll take more than that to knock me out…like a precariously placed axe that just has to be touched to literally sweep the rug out from under me.”

The two shared a laugh at the long running inside joke as they quietly ate, casually listening to the many conversations going on around them. Everyone was talking about why they’d all been invited to attend this particular pitch meeting, and as curiosity finally got the better of him, Bowser asked Luigi if he knew anything about the crowd.

“All I know is it’s less they were all invited and more that the rumor is Miyamoto is going to make some big change for this next project. Don’t know it’s on the scale of what we did way back when with 64, but we’ll see, I guess…”

“You think it’s going to be another one of those crossover film things like with Subspace Emissary?”

“Nah,” Luigi clicked his tongue, leaning back in his chair. “Mr. Sakurai isn’t anywhere to be seen, and he’s always here for those projects. No, it’s something related to this franchise you and I are stuck with…but a juicy rumor like that is certainly enough to draw a crowd.” Luigi nodded his head towards the reporters, but Bowser was only half listening to Luigi.

It took him another good minute of talking to air before Luigi turned to notice Bowser, smiling wide and staring ahead. And it didn’t take a genius to notice the object of his desires walking into Studio 4.

Peach looked absolutely stunning, and she wasn’t even done up to look like she was. Wearing just a plain t-shirt and cutoff shorts, her hair done up in a big bun and wearing some simple flat shoes, she could easily be mistaken as just another person walking through a mall or on the street if not for her sheer star power. But none of that mattered to Bowser; what mattered to him was that she looked as beautiful as ever and based on the wide smile on her face as she talked with Daisy, he assumed that she was also very happy about something.

“Checking out your future woman, eh?” Luigi playfully jabbed Bowser with his elbow, knocking him out of his trace.

“Wh-what?” Bowser said sheepishly as he blushed. “No! Not at all!...Shut up!”

Luigi suppressed a loud belly laugh by forcing himself to eat something, and when he finally swallowed that he turned back to Bowser. “Dude, this is hilarious! If I’d have known you’d had a crush on Peach earlier I would have started teasing you so much more!”

“Sometimes you’re a real ass, you know that?” Bowser said playfully, not a hint of malice on his voice as he addressed his friend.

“It’s one of my better features. Or at least that’s what Daisy seems to think.”

The two shared a hearty laugh as they continued to eat, Bowser quickly finishing what he had left and leaving the two to sit there in silence for a moment. All the while Bowser couldn’t help but look over towards Peach, still lost in her own little world talking to Daisy.

“You keep staring like that and it’s going to start to seem creepy,” Luigi joked, snapping Bowser out of his daze once more. “Don’t make me invest in a spray bottle…”

“I…I can’t help it, man,” Bowser said as he let himself slump forward, resting his chin in his hand as he continued to watch Peach. “She’s just so…”

“Believe me, buddy, I get it. That’s how I felt when I first saw Daisy…and the feeling hasn’t gone away ever since.” Luigi chuckled as he looked to Daisy, who broke her gaze away from Peach long enough to blow a kiss in Luigi’s direction. Luigi playfully caught it and sent one back, Daisy making a show of it hitting her cheek with enough force to almost knock her over.

“You two really have something special…” Bowser said sardonically, sighing deeply as Peach went to her seat near the front. “I can only hope I’ll have half of what you have with Daisy.”

“You’ll get there someday, buddy,” Luigi said putting a reassuring hand on Bowser’s large arm. “Just don’t give up hope; I’m rooting for you, pal.”

Bowser turned to Luigi with a grin just as Director Miyamoto took the stage, a small smattering of applause greeting him. “Thanks, bud.”

Director Miyamoto took the podium up near the front, the conversation dying down almost instantly. Everyone in the room had incredible respect for the man before them, not only because he had had a hand in creating all of their respective films and series, but had helped to revolutionize the industry they all were employed in after it looked like it was on the brink of destruction. And now he was about to announce a new project that could very well shake things up once again. Bowser was very eager to hear what he had to say; if he had anything even close to the amount of time with Peach as he did in the last project, which itself was already a considerable amount more than he usually got, he would be elated.

“Thank you all for coming,” Director Miyamoto said in Japanese, his words being translated for the mostly English-speaking audience before him by his translator. “Even to those of you who won’t actually be a part of this next project, but it is always great to see all of you here. But back to business now, I would like you all to join in a brief congratulations to Odyssey.”

With that he raised his hands and softly clapped, everyone in the room following along as they paid respect to the film that had come before. It was practically a tradition at this point that they all clap for the previous film, but with how massive an undertaking Odyssey had been it was nice to have this moment of reflection and appreciation that wasn’t just another afterparty for just another movie. But soon, as it always would, the applause died down and Director Miyamoto returned to his speech.

“Again, thank you all so much for your hard work. But now we must move beyond that and do what we do so well. Only this time…I think some changes are long overdue for this world we all so dearly love, don’t you?”

Everyone in the room leaned forward as almost all noise left the space. This was why they were all there, hanging on the director’s every word. What possible changes could there be in store for this next film?!

“For years, we’ve seen the talented Mario traverse countless worlds, taking on the many threats of the evil King Bowser as he tries to rescue the Princess Peach. Each time, Mario is victorious, and peace is restored to the kingdom, but that peace only lasts for so long. The one blind spot in my many years as a film maker has been focusing a bit too much on the hero, a criticism that I have held onto for some time. But now, I hope to change that.”

Director Miyamoto looked around the room with a grin. He knew he was keeping them in suspense, but he wouldn’t have had it any other way.

“This new project, which we have yet to come up with a solid name for, will feature a parallel storyline unlike anything we’ve done before. While we will still feature the escapades of the Hero Mario, galivanting about the many worlds and kingdoms he has to fight through to save the Princess…we’ll also be taking a step back and examining the often-neglected relationship between captor and captive.”

Several intakes of breath could be heard as the crowd processed the news. Among them, however, was not Bowser, who was currently breathless at the realization of what Director Miyamoto was saying.

“That’s right, friends. The second plot thread of this new story will be showcasing the relationship between the evil King Bowser and the innocent Princess Peach!”

Immediately the room was full of conversation, but Bowser couldn’t hear any of it. Still trying to breath at the thought of having such a larger role to undertake, let alone one that would see him working even more closely with Peach, was sending him into a mixture of a hyperactive episode and an anxiety attack. He wanted to cheer to the heavens and shut himself off to the world all at the same time, and as he tried to force himself to calm down using his meditation techniques, he found that he was having trouble finding a solid footing.

A million thoughts flooded his thoughts. Images and words and conversations that may or may not happen kept him from clearing his mind. Everything was spiraling around him and yet he couldn’t feel a thing…

…Until he finally focused in on Peach. She was seated a few rows in front of him next to Mario, and she was turned facing him with a big smile on her face. Seeing her smile instantly grounded Bowser, and the world came charging back into focus. And when she gave him a thumbs up and wink, he couldn’t help but smile as he desperately hoped that he wasn’t blushing too hard.

And for what seemed like a lifetime, the two remained staring at one another. Peach with her perfect, beautiful smile, and Bowser with an attempt at his own for her. He would face any challenge, any obstacle to be with her if her could…and the biggest obstacle wasn’t as far off as he may have hoped.

Mario turned and glared at Bowser, his hand coming around to casually turn Peach back towards Director Miyamoto. His eyes danced with fire like Bowser had never seen, and despite the fear that came over him as he thought about what sort of retaliation Mario might be cooking up in his head, Bowser couldn’t help but find the grimace to be a signal of fear from Mario. Mario never looked like that when it came to Bowser and Peach having a few scenes together, but potentially a whole film’s worth of scenes where Bowser would be able to lay on the charm and potentially woo Peach away from him?

Now that was something Mario couldn’t allow.

Director Miyamoto allowed the rumblings of the crowd to die down before he continued. “I won’t say anymore for now, and please note that this is only an early draft of our ideas that have the potential to change…but I think we all deserve to know more about this world and those in it. But I can promise you all this…”

Bowser watched as Miyamoto met his eyes in particular, smiling wide in that loving, almost fatherly sort of way. “There are bound to be a few surprises in store for us all.”

The assembled crowd erupted into applause as Director Miyamoto bowed and once again thanked everyone for coming, leaving the podium to his translator to answer any questions from the available press. Bowser barely registered Mario getting up from his seat with a huff as he was still coming down from the high of getting to work even more closely with Peach than he ever had before, and it wasn’t until he heard her sweet voice that he finally snapped back to reality.

“Looks like we’ll be working a lot closer together for this project, Bowsey,” Peach said lovingly, her small smile filling his heart with an overflow of love.

“Y-yeah,” Bowser stammered out. “It…it’ll be a lot of fun!”

“I certainly hope so,” Peach said coyly. “It’s been a while since I got to strut my stuff and show everyone I’m more than just a damsel in distress. Here’s hoping there’s a scene where I have to fight you off…if you catch my drift,” Peach finished with a wink.

Bowser’s face instantly went red as he tried to find something to say, but for once he was saved by Mario, even if it was unintentional. Mario called out to Peach to come with him, wanting to grab a bite to eat or something else like that. Peach sweetly said by to Luigi and Bowser before turning, moving quickly to Mario’s side as they exited the building.

“Bye…Peach.”

“She left like an hour ago, dude,” Luigi joked as he stood and stretched. “You sure you’re going to be able to handle working with Peach that much? You could barely even talk to her just now.”

“I…I don’t know what came over me,” Bowser said as he stood alongside Luigi, the two of them heading out of the Studio. “I’m usually able to talk to her fine…”

“Well I’m happy for you either way, pal,” Luigi said as they made their way out of the Studio lot, the security thankfully blocking the paparazzi from bothering them. “What do you say we hit up Peter Pepper’s to celebrate?”

“Didn’t you have your fill with craft services?” Bowser teased him.

“Man, you know I have a bottomless stomach. Besides, you effectively got a promotion! That’s certainly a cause for celebration. Come on, it’s my treat!”

Peter Pepper’s was a local establishment that pre-dated Nintendwood Studios, having been featured in a little-known cult classic film called BurgerTime. While the Peter Pepper, the original owner of the establishment, had long since passed, he’d left the store in the capable hands of his friend and longtime partner, a lovely woman who told everyone to call her Mama. Bowser and Luigi had celebrated the success of their first movie by coming to Peter Pepper’s where they met Mama, and the two had been regulars ever since, even getting the honor of reserved seats, something that Mama allowed for only a handful of individuals.

As soon as the pair walked in there was an uproar of cheers and claps, Luigi and Bowser playfully shouting and commenting back to the crowd of regulars as they made their way to their table. The rambunctious nature of the place died down as every got back to their food, and the pair of friends were glad to have a safe, relatively private space to talk some more. Mama met them almost immediately, bringing them their usual drinks and asked if they wanted the usual. They happily agreed and she gave them both big, loving hugs before rushing off back to the kitchen to do her magic, leaving the two in relative silence for a brief few moments to nurse their sodas.

“So you gonna tell Peach how much you love her before or after the torture dungeon scene?” Luigi joked suddenly, laughing uncontrollably at Bowser’s face turning lobster red in an instant and he spat out some of his drink.

“That’s not funny, man!” Bowser said loudly, stifling himself as people turned to look before going back to their meals. “Besides, I _highly_ doubt Director Miyamoto would allow something like that…”

“Of course he wouldn’t!” Luigi said through ragged breaths, trying desperately to recover from his laughing fit. “That man is so guarded over this franchise that even me joking like that just now could land me without a job tomorrow!”

“Given the pull that your brother has, I highly doubt that that would happen anytime soon.”

“Yeah…speaking of Mario though,” Luigi began somberly, shifting the tone very suddenly. “I’m almost positive that he didn’t like the news that you’ll be spending so much time with Peach…he’s bound to find some way to retaliate or change it, mark my words.”

Bowser nodded, remembering the glare that Mario had flashed his way after the announcement as he took another drink of his soda. Mario had had a truly terrifying expression on his face, almost like he was ready to murder him for something that was out of Bowser’s control…but that was just how Mario was…

“Here’s hoping that he doesn’t bring the hammer down too hard,” Bowser said sarcastically as Mama brought them their food, cooked to perfection as always.

“Mario’s never one to back down from something if he sets his mind to it,” Luigi said as he dug into his burger. “He may treat Peach like a hot trophy he can flaunt for the press, but he’s _very_ protective of his trophies, so you better watch your step. He’s pulled some nasty stunts in the past for less…”

“I’ll be sure to look out for any ‘nasty stunts’ he might throw my way,” Bowser said, trying his best to sound reassuring. “Besides, I’m as integral to these films as he is at this point; I doubt he’d do anything to get me kicked out, let alone succeed in doing so. I’m no Wart, after all.”

“Man, I haven’t thought about Wart is _ages_!” Luigi said with a laugh. “But seriously, dude…tread carefully. He may be a douchebag, but he’s tactful…Not all of us can bounce back from the brink like Pauline did…”

“You worried he’s going to try and edge you out of the franchise?” Bowser asked Luigi carefully. It had been only a few years earlier that Luigi had expressed his fears that Mario was trying to get rid of him. It was subtle at first, with Luigi barely appearing as a cameo in most of the projects that he wasn’t heading up himself. Things really came to a head when Luigi didn’t even appear in Odyssey outside of a few moments near the end; Mario tried to assure him that he would have a feature on the eventual home release, but from what he’d heard it was merely a hide and seek game within the film and nothing more.

“He couldn’t kick me out if he really wanted to…” Luigi said sardonically. “The contract we signed forbids him from pushing me out; one of the few things Mom managed to convince him of before everything went to his stupid, arrogant head. Probably won’t stop him from trying though.”

“Well I got your back, man,” Bowser said as he finished off his burger. “Mario tries anything to oust you and I’ll be there to get in his way like always.”

Luigi chuckled. He wanted to say more, but Mama came to the table to grab their plates, interjecting into the conversation.

“Bowser, sweetie,” she said in a soft, friendly voice. “I hear that you and Miss Peach might be an item now? Is that true?”

Luigi and Bowser both stiffened with shock and shared a glance before looking back towards Mama, who was all smiles as usual.

“It’s, uh…a bit more complicated than that, Mama,” Bowser said rubbing his neck. “Mostly just Nintendwood rumors running wild again…”

“Oh that’s a shame,” Mama said as she handed off the tray of food to one of her employees. “I always liked you two together. She’s such a sweet girl, and the way she looks at you when she thinks you’re not looking…” Bowser blushed as Mama giggled. “But maybe I’ve said too much already. Is there anything else I can get you two lovely boys?”

“I think we’re alright, Mama,” Luigi said with a smile, standing and gladly accepting a hug from her. “The food was excellent as always.”

“Well I’m glad to hear that,” she said as she went over to Bowser and got a giant bear hug from him. “It’s always a good day when you two boys come in. And trust me, sweetie,” she said softly, having Bowser kneel down so she could place a hand on his cheek. “I see spark between you and Peach, certainly more than I ever saw with her and that Mario. You hold on to that love I know you feel for her, and I’m sure things will work out for you.”

“Thanks, Mama,” Bowser said softly, wrapping her up in another big hug.

“And make sure you two get together sometime soon, like in the next three months, for instance,” Mama said with a chuckle. “Now that I know for sure you have a crush on that girl, I’ll have to up my wager in the betting pool!”

“Wait,” Luigi said with a grin. “You _knew_?!”

“Honey, I’ve been putting up with you two coming in here for three decades now!” Mama said with a laugh. “I’d like to think I’ve gotten to know you boys in that time, and the way that Bowser here looks at Peach…there’s no doubt in my mind that he’s in love with that woman and has been for _years_! Don’t make us wait too long, Bowser…I fully expect to be catering your wedding one day!”

Bowser and Luigi watched her walk away, Luigi holding back fits of laughter as Bowser just stared ahead dumbfounded. Eventually the pair left and made their way back to Luigi’s, spending the night talking and just hanging out together, Daisy eventually joining them. They kept Bowser’s crush a secret from Daisy for now, but they still had a good time just relaxing together.

Tomorrow would see the start of rehearsals, when everybody would be getting their scripts and going over what happens in each scene, and Bowser was giddy with anticipation. He knew without a doubt that the torture chamber scene Luigi jokingly proposed wouldn’t be in the film, but his mind went wild with possibilities of how the writers would actually showcase their relationship in the castle.

It could be a foreboding experience, with Peach feeling trapped while Bowser slowly tormented her into relinquishing power over to him. It could be an adventure all it’s own, where Peach tries to escape the castle only to be stopped by Bowser, and just as she’s about to escape Bowser thwarts her attempt only for Mario to then swoop in and save the day like always.

Or maybe, and Bowser was really hoping that they might go with this angle, Bowser would be the sensitive type in this new portrayal. It was meant to show a different side of him, after all, and maybe instead of kidnapping Peach every so often for power or something, it could be revealed that he was doing it out of love. Maybe him and Peach had had a secret relationship in the films for years, with the whole kidnapping schtick being in the films for the sake of drama or to keep the story going, but because the curtain was never drawn back no one had ever truly known…

Whatever tomorrow held, Bowser couldn’t wait to find out. And as he made his way home late into the evening, tired and hopeful for whatever laid before him, he couldn’t help but think of Peach’s soft smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Please let me know what you think, and expect more to come very soon!
> 
> Want to Commission your own work? Message me on Twitter or shoot me an email for more details!
> 
> @Sir_Skullian - https://twitter.com/Sir_Skullian  
> sir.skullian@gmail.com


	3. The Rehearsal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bowser and Peach begin to rehearse their new parts, and in between rehearsals they bond over their shared interests and come closer together, only for something unexpected to rip them apart.

Bowser stood on the deck of his massive airship, currently circling slowly around the perimeter of Peach’s Castle a few hundred yards beneath them. From his vantage point this high up, Bowser was able to survey the entirety of the Mushroom Kingdom, able to see the movements of his troops as they spread themselves throughout the kingdom in his bid for dominance and gave way for one heck of an incredible view.

And at one point in his life, that would have all been enough for him. While in his younger days the Mad Tyrannical King Koopa may have spent his days attempting to destroy the monarchy of the Mushroom Kingdom for his own gain, seeing the world and all the glorious things he had before him to conquer, he’d since moved on to more…personal endeavors.

Bowser’s more recent schemes had seemed much tamer as the years went by, with some criticizing him as having gone soft or losing his desire for domination. Some said that his desire for dominance had waned after too many losses against Mario and friends, while others speculated that the Koopa King had set his sights upon other kingdoms, hoping to find smaller, weaker kingdoms to usurp and ultimately grow his power.

What surprised him the most was how accurate those claims were, though the reasoning behind them was a bit askew from reality. While yes, he’d grown tired with his desire to overthrow the Mushroom Kingdom by force, it had not been because of boredom or a sense of loss…but from having found companionship and friends.

Ever since his failed coup of the Isle Delfino – It really made you stop and think when an overpowered super soaker destroyed your plans for domination – Bowser had begun a period of serious self-reflection, traveling throughout the many Kingdoms to try and figure out what he had been doing wrong, and what he should be doing with his life instead. He left much of the daily running of his army and small gaggle of allied races to his children the Koopalings and spent time away from the Mushroom Kingdom and everyone there within…well, almost everyone.

After not hearing anything about him or from him for more than a few months, Princess Peach, Mario, and a few others received a letter from Bowser, asking them for a meeting of sorts between them, promising no ill intent or malice so long as they agreed to the same. And so one summer evening on the Isle Delfino, established as Neutral ground ever since the failed coup, Princess Peach, Mario, Luigi and Toad met with Bowser, Bowser Jr and Kamik, and in a move that almost everyone did not see coming began discussing an alliance between the two Kingdoms.

The meeting had gone surprisingly well, and in the end the two parties came to an agreement. As both the Mushroom Kingdom and Bowser’s army were somewhat dependent upon the regular ‘kidnapping’ of the Princess and Mario’s quest to save her, they would continue to uphold the tradition. Bowser would agree to withdraw some of his more egregious and deadly allies, giving Mario an easier time, while Mario would do his best to treat Bowser’s forces with respect while keeping up the charade of him taking down the Koopa King’s forces. All the while Bowser and Peach would secretly co-run both Kingdoms, forming a secret alliance that only those gathered in the meeting would be aware of.

It was an unorthodox system, one full of potential problems and new challenges to overcome, but through trial and tribulation, they’d managed to make it somehow work. Bowser had promoted the Koopalings to higher command and put them in charge of their own factions, allowing his forces to be spread thinner and to have less experienced tacticians at hand giving Mario an easier time. All the while Bowser and Peach ran their countries better than ever, and despite the occasional kidnapping, began to prosper.

Bowser leaned forward to look into the viewfinder of his telescope, training the long, metallic tubes gaze towards the tower current under the control of Morton just in time to watch the flag atop the tower descend, soon to be replaced by a big red flag with a large red M. He chuckled as he pulled away from the telescope, just in time to see Princess Peach making her way onto the top deck to join him.

“The moon is lovely tonight,” Princess Peach said as he came over, signaling for any troops he had on the deck to leave them be.

“It really is,” Bowser said as he looked up and admired it alongside Princess Peach. “It’s not often that it gets to be this big…I wish it would be like that more often.”

The two remained there for a while merely admiring the moons brilliance, the soft wind beating against them gently as they enjoyed the warm summer night.

“I overheard from some of your troops that Mario is close to Morton…” Princess Peach eventually said as she made her way over towards the railing, looking out over the kingdom below towards Morton’s tower.

“Actually he just took over shortly before you got up here,” Bowser said with a smile, joining her at the railing. “Guess we better stop procrastinating and get some actual work done before he comes and ‘rescues’ you, huh?”

Princess Peach giggled, looking up at Bowser with a smile. “We still have time…Let’s just enjoy this sight a little longer…”

Bowser smiled, letting the silence grow between them once more. And once again, Princess Peach was the one to speak up first.

“You never told me how you came to have eight kids, you know…” she said inquisitively.

“Oh, well…that’s two different stories, actually. Only Bowser Jr. is my blood son; the other Koopalings were all adopted.”

“Really?” Princess Peach said with surprise. “I genuinely thought they were all yours.”

“Well, they are still my children, just not blood related to me. Bowser Jr’s Mom was…she was something else. One of the only other Koopas I met who could match me in combat, even going so far as to try and challenge me for the throne…”

“She did?!”

“Yup. First time we met, she came into my throne room and demanded I accept her challenge. It’s not really well known, but the custom of my kingdom has always been that if you challenge the King to a match for the throne and said challenge is accepted, then the victor will be crowned King. I’ve only been King for as long as I have because I’ve won every challenge that has come my way…until I met her.

“She was an incredible woman, full of power and ferocity, taking nothing from anyone that she didn’t then plan on giving right back. It was also a bit of a surprise when she came into my throne room…It had been so long since I’d seen another Koopa like me that I had begun to think I was the last of my kind.”

“And what happened?”

“Well, she challenged me, like I said…and beat me. I like to think I put up a fight for her, but in truth she absolutely won that battle. And what surprised me most wasn’t just that she won…but that once the throne was hers, she offered to make me her king, effectively making the battle meaningless...I asked her sometime after that why she challenged me instead of just proposing a relationship, and she smiled at me before saying ‘I wanted to prove you could be put in your place.’”

“That’s incredible,” Princess Peach said as she focused her attention on Bowser. “What happened to her?”

Bowser withdrew inwards, growing quiet for a long while before sighing deeply. “She…died in childbirth…”

“Oh…I’m sorry. That…that must have been really hard…”

“It’s alright,” Bowser stated with a reassuring smile, focusing his attention upwards towards the moon. “Bowser Jr. reminds me of her all the time with how tenacious and creative he can be, so it’s like I have a part of her always with me. And with the Koopalings…I didn’t want to them to grow up without a father, like I did…so in the end I found myself with eight children to give my love to in her absence.”

“So everything really worked out in the end, huh?”

Bowser smiled, looking back down at Princess Peach’s own smile. “Yeah…it really did. Now come on; we really shouldn’t procrastinate any longer; those land redistribution maps aren’t going to draw themselves. Let’s get to work.”

The two re-entered the airship side by side, beginning to discuss the work they still had to complete before Mario got there. The camera panned away from there, making for the far off tower that Mario had just taken.

= = = = = = =

Bowser paused the video, setting the remote down before chuckling. “Man…is this the third or fourth time Director Miyamoto has tried to pull the whole ‘it’s all an act’ thing? The higher ups must be getting on his case against about all those spin-off shows like Kart and Party where we’re all chummy and getting along…”

The two of them were inside of Peach’s manor, located high in the hills of Nintendwood. The massive property was as large as a castle, with outward facing constructs appearing as castle towers and palisades, which only fueled the fire of those who proclaimed Peach to be an actual Princess, rather than the young up-and-comer she truly was.

One only needed to take a look inside the properties walls to notice the stark contrast of the exterior; modern design and furniture filled nearly every room in the massive home, an overabundance of color and lavish décor helping to compliment her vibrant personality. Bowser always felt comfortable within her home, like he’d always been welcome there…and he liked to think that was because Peach would always welcome him.

They had chosen her estate for their rehearsal thanks to the impressive real time CGI generation matrix Mario had had installed, allowing them to see how a scene might look in the final cut of the film when they reviewed footage rather than having to watch themselves perform in front of greenscreens. Mario had insisted that he have it installed there so they could be more relaxed while rehearsing, but Bowser assumed it was just another one of his attempts at controlling her day to day life and about knowing where she was at all times. Regardless the facility was impressive in its own right, and Bowser had to admit that the technology, while not perfect, did make reviewing footage much easier on the eyes since his vision wasn’t flooded by green.

“I think it’s only the third,” Peach said as she entered from the kitchen, handing Bowser a large glass of water as she sat down on the couch near him. “And at least this time it’s not going to played off as some kind of surprise for the end of the film. Remember the backlash we got when it turned out that the second movie had just been a dream the whole time?”

“Yeah that was a real head scratcher,” Bowser said as he took a sip of his drink, setting the glass gently down onto a coaster on the coffee table in front of him when he was done. “And then there was that whole fiasco with the poorly constructed sets in the third film. I mean, they could have just said that the higher ups at the studio cut our budget due to the poor performance of the last film and that’s why the sets looked like stage props, but Director Miyamoto sure does love adding a lot of personal flair to make it appear like it was all a part of his perfectionist vision, I guess…”

Peach giggled, sending a flurry of butterflies flying throughout Bowser’s stomach. “Yeah, I suppose he does. But I do like how _this_ one is shaping out so far,” she said as she pointed to the paused video. “It’s a bit exposition heavy, sure, but I suppose he had to explain all of this somehow, and doing a title crawl or something wouldn’t really have the same effect as just showing it…”

“I suppose you’re right. Though I’m not so sure about the whole ‘dead wife’ thing…seems a bit played out to me.”

“Well it’s certainly better than the time they tried to convince people that I was Bowser Jr’s. mother!” Peach said with a laugh. “I had _absolutely_ no idea how I was going to work with that one when I first read it in the script!”

“Well I think you handled it wonderfully, all things considered,” Bowser said with a chuckle. “But at least we’ll finally have an answer for this. No more of those fervent fans trying to see us get together to prove that we could actually make Bowser Jr, right?”

Bowser froze in place as he realized what he’d just said. He shrank back as he dared not breathe, but when Peach laughed after an awkward pause, he felt safe to breathe again.

“Yeah, I suppose that’ll be nice. If nothing else Mario will probably be glad to not have to deal with that anymore…”

“Does Mario get a lot of questions related to that?”

“Well not so much as of late,” she admitted softly. “But he seems to think that…well, that it was a script change requested by you.”

Bowser sighed heavily. “Of course he does…”

“I don’t get why he dislikes you so much,” Peach said suddenly, Bowser looking down and examining her closely. “I mean…you’re a really sweet guy that he works with all the time. You’d think that him knowing you personally wouldn’t make him be a slave to the stupid things the tabloids say!”

Bowser looked down at her carefully. “You really think _that_ highly of me?”

Peach blushed as she parted some of her hair away behind her ear, looking away as she chuckled. “Well, yeah. We’ve been working together for so long that…I kind of figured you knew that I thought of you as one of my best friends.”

Bowser smiled, feeling his heart soar. “I feel the same. Being able to work with you has been one of the best things to happen in my whole career…And hey, with this new script, it means you and I get to actually spend more time together, so there’s always that little bonus,” Bowser said with a chuckle, blushing when he finally realized what it was he’d said. He looked down to find Peach smiling up at him, though, and he loosened up a little bit at the sight of her perfect smile.

“Oh, honey,” she said softly, standing and grabbing her glass to refill it. “You really want to spend more time with little ol’ me?”

Bowser’s blush returned to his cheeks as he studied her carefully. Part of him knew she was baiting him, and he seriously hoped that she was waiting for him to confirm his feelings for her. But he knew he also had to be cautious; if he accidentally confessed his love to her then and there and she didn’t reciprocate those feelings, it would make things very awkward going forward…not to mention what Mario might say or do.

“O-of course I do!” Bowser said shakily, standing to follow Peach into the kitchen. “I mean…we already get along great, and lately it feels like we don’t really have that much time to catch up on set. We only ever have a few scenes together, and in them you spend more time with Mario than me for, well, obvious story reasons, so it’s nice to be able to work off of one another more, you know?”

“I suppose we have been seeing less of each other as of late…”

“But hey, even if we don’t get a chance to spend a lot of time together, we just have to make those moments all the more fun, right?” Bowser said reassuringly, making sure his smile was as genuine as possible.

“Oh really?” Peach asked. “And what, pray tell, is your idea of fun? Skinny dipping in the pool or just ramming into a girl until she’s screaming your name?”

Bowser clammed up as he felt his face turn bright red, unsure of how exactly to answer. “W-well, I um…”

“I’m just teasing you, Bowsey,” Peach said with a chuckle, smiling innocently for a moment. “I wanna hang out with you because I like you, not because I expect anything from you, I promise.”

Bowser smiled. “That was a dirty trick, you know that?”

“What can I say?” Peach said with a wicked grin. “Maybe Daisy’s rubbing off on me. That’s probably why you wanna hang out with me so much, huh?”

“While I’m all for you being a bit more self-empowered, I like to think it’s also because we’re just really good friends, like you said,” Bowser said, opening his heart for a moment and speaking the truth of his feelings without giving away his true desires “Plus there’s the fact that you’re great at tennis and can actually give me a run for my money…a-and we both have a lot of the same interests in movies and food…”

“You’re sweet, you know that? Now…keep telling me how great I am,” Peach said teasingly as she motioned for them to head outside, intending to sit on the patio and enjoy the warm summer air.

“Well,” Bowser said, trying his best to hide his blushing face. “You have a fantastic smile, hearing you laugh is like music created by the universe itself, and…your eyes are incredible…I could honestly just sit there and stare into your eyes for hours on end, seeing the depths of your desire well up within them. Whenever I’m upset or need a pick me up…I think of your smiling face, that infectious laugh…and your beautiful, magnificently blue eyes…”

Peach blushed furiously and shied away, but Bowser could still see the smile on her face.

“You keep sweet talking me like that, Bowser, and I’ll assume you’re _actually_ trying to seduce me!”

Bowser blushed furiously as Peach moved out onto the patio, overlooking the massive and immaculately manicured flower field she had decorating her backyard. Every few months she had the flowers updated and rearranged, decorating her yard with artwork that manifested itself through her flowers. The yard was currently decorated to look like the climactic scene from their latest film project Odyssey, depicting the scene where Bowser and Mario fight for the fate of the Princess.

Bowser towered over the left side of the “frame” while Mario was off to the right, and in between them with a look of distress was Princess Peach. Each of them wore their fancy white wedding clothes, and despite being designed from a million little flowers that gently blew in the breeze, the resemblance was surprisingly real.

Bowser took a seat on the ground so as to not accidentally break any of her patio furniture, seated near Peach who was laying herself out on one of the extended and plush lounge chairs. “I, uh…love the arrangement you went with this time…Why’d you go with that scene?”

“I think it’s just because I like how that shot turned out,” Peach said softly, looking over the field of flowers with a wistful smile. “It really shows you how torn the Princess is in that moment, you know? She’s the kind of person who doesn’t like violence, who would rather solve things peacefully…and that’s why I think I like this new script so much. Saying that that’s basically what’s been going on behind the scenes for a while now will really help show that violence isn’t the only answer…that love can overcome anything, you know?”

Bowser melted as she smiled towards him, extending her glass towards him with the intention of them clinking. “Uh…y-yeah,” he stammered out as he tapped her glass, the two drinking in silence for a while after that. Bowser wanted to say more, about how profound an observation her thought that that was and how smart she was, but he felt like his tongue was suddenly swollen and he couldn’t speak.

Instead he simply watched the sunset past the flower field with Peach, both of them enjoying the slight breeze as the heat of the afternoon began to slowly wane. It was nice to just sit down and enjoy something small like this; his schedule was usually so hectic that he couldn’t ever find time to just sit down and appreciate life…and yet whenever he was with Peach, all he ever seemed to be able to do was appreciate the life that he had and the people he shared it with…especially her.

Bowser turned his attention slowly towards Peach, whose long blonde hair blew gently through the air as she was transfixed by the purple and red hues of the setting sun. The longer he watched her, the darker the night began to grow, and yet she seemed to just outshine the darkness all around her. If he thought she might allow her, he wanted nothing more than to reach up and give her a soft kiss on the cheek.

“You know,” Peach began, startling Bowser who quickly turned his attention back towards the sunset to try and seem like he hadn’t just been staring at her for much longer than he probably should have. “I think one of the things I like most about you is that you can really melt into a role.”

Bowser raised an eyebrow. “How do you mean?”

“Well, outside of the studio, you’re this sweet, caring guy who only wants what’s best for everybody. I’ve seen you do coffee runs for stagehands when they were injured, you’ve always made a point of checking in with everyone after a particularly grueling day of work…there’s an undeniable kindness within you, and yet when you’re playing King Koopa…It’s like you’re an entirely different person.

“King Koopa is large, imposing, and full of this vile, unhinged aggression. He breathes fire and tries to overthrow entire kingdoms! And whenever we’re on that soundstage together, going through our parts and becoming our characters…I sometimes forget that it’s you who I’m working off of. As soon as the camera’s roll you become this entirely other person, this monster…but when the director shouts cut you’re back to who you are…It’s honestly incredible to me how you can just switch on and off like that.”

“Yeah, well,” Bowser said with a heavy sigh as he looked away from Peach. “When your vilified by the general public for as long as I have been…you start to internalize some of that aggression. I mean just look at how I was in the beginning…I wasn’t an antagonist; I was basically a living wall for Mario to just jump over, touching an axe to drop the bridge over and over to have some form of tension. But spend enough time being seen as a villain, with more elaborate plans and committing dastardly deeds and people start to treat you like one…so I might as well give them something to fear, right?”

“I…sort of get what you’re saying,” Peach said as she pulled her knees up to her chest. “I mean, I’m not seen as a villain, I honestly don’t know how you can put up with all of that…Meanwhile, I get to deal with being the damsel in distress, the Princess in need of rescue…as Mario’s girl. Ever since he rescued me in that first movie, everyone has been _dying_ for us to be together! I think that’s why we ended up together in the first place, to be honest…public expectation.

“But I’m not just Mario’s Girl…I’m a free thinking individual with dreams and desires all my own, not just arm candy for someone else! Especially not some as…egocentric as Mario…”

“Careful there, Peach,” Bowser began with a chuckle. “You keep talking like that, people might start thinking you don’t want to _be_ Mario’s Girl anymore…”

“Maybe I don’t,” Peach whispered out, just loud enough for Bowser to hear her. He turned to judge her expression, only to find she was already looking at him, a sad, almost melancholy smile on her face.

“We, um…we should probably go back inside and…rehearse some more.” Bowser managed to say as he stood slowly, looking away from Peach bashfully.

“Not just yet…please,” Peach said as she reached for his hand, grabbing it with both of hers. Bowser looked down to see both her hands barely even covering one of his, and yet he felt powerless to move in that moment. “Let’s…let’s enjoy the fresh air…just a bit longer.”

Bowser smiled down to her as she released his hands, taking a seat on the ground once more a little closer to her chair. She casually leaned over and rested her head against his arm, Bowser doing his best to not flinch as she did, and they stayed there for a while in silence as the last bit of light from the sun escaped over the horizon. It was soon replaced by the dimmer light of the city coming alive, buildings, cars, planes, and more fighting against the darkness with manufactured light to try and make sense of the chaos.

Bowser felt in that moment that if he could whisk Peach away from all of this, that if the two of them could just get out of the movie business, out of the city and away from all the pain that this town and the people had caused them…that maybe they would be alright. Maybe they could have a chance to become new people, to explore their interests…maybe even grow to be more than just friends.

Peach let out a heavy sigh as she slowly stood up, stretching as she did to return feeling to her muscles. “Alright…Come on, big guy,” she said playfully, doing her best to help him up. “We should get back to it. Still have a whole 30 pages of script to go over before we get in front of those cameras in a few days.”

“Lead the way,” Bowser said with a grin, playfully bowing to Peach and enjoying the smile she gave him in response. The next few hours were filled with the two going over lines, practicing their parts, laughing when one of them would make a blunder and generally having fun together as they began to familiarize themselves with the major changes needed of their respective roles. They took very few breaks and instead worked diligently, and once they were done for the day at around midnight, Peach suggested they relax for a while before retiring for the evening.

The two of them returned to the living room where they shared in some expertly crafted drinks by Peach, and they began unwinding as the stresses of the day melted away from them. The longer they talked the more they drank, and soon Bowser noticed Peach was a bit tipsier then she was letting on. He decided that it would benefit them both if he stayed and watched over her, making sure she wasn’t

Bowser happily accepted, part of him knowing the alcohol was to blame, and he followed her through her home towards the smell of chlorine and moisture. He waited patiently outside a changing room while Peach changed into her pink one piece swimsuit before the two made for the large rectangular hot tub that dominated the center of an otherwise quiet, serene place within her home. The room appeared to be modeled after ancient Roman bathhouses, complete with waterspouts that constantly refilled the pools, stone and marble column with intricate detailing, and long strands of ivy and plant life clinging to the walls and ceiling.

Peach entered the large pool of warm water first, making for the back of it and resting against one of the many lips nestled beneath the water’s surface. She allowed her body to relax as she rested her head against the ground behind her, only to then pick her head up and watch Bowser enter the water slowly, chuckling to herself as he looked for a place to sit, found none, and instead sat down in the center of the pool facing her.

“This is sooooo nice,” Peach said as she relaxed again, stretching her body for a long moment before returning to a seated position. “I love coming in here and just letting my worries melt away.”

“I can understand why,” Bowser said with a chuckle, rolling his shoulders as he tried his best to relax. Unfortunately for him the position in the center of the pool left him without many options for lounging, so he resorted to spreading himself out as best her could. He noticed Peach watching him carefully, and he did his best to not accidentally slip or make a fool of himself.

As the two relaxed they eventually turned back to talking about work, complimenting one another on the rehearsals they’d had that day and how they might improve. All the while they continued to drink, Peach having discarded her glass in exchange for full bottles like Bowser was drinking from, getting progressively more and more drunk as a result.

Bowser was a bit concerned, but he’d seen Peach drink way more than this at parties before and been fine; why should tonight be any different?

“Do you think I’m pretty, Bowser?” Peach asked suddenly, shocking Bowser for a moment as he took in her slightly slurred words.

“Well, um…yes?” Bowser responded, trying to find a way to say he found her attractive without revealing his true feelings but also honestly answering her. “You’re one of the most beautiful women in all of Nintendwood…how I could I _not_ think you’re pretty?”

“That’s not what I meant, silly,” Peach said as she slowly stood, letting the now empty bottle of wine fall from her fingers to float on the water. She took a few steps forward, her eyes never leaving Bowser’s as she continued. “I mean do you find me _attractive_? Like…in a _sexy_ kind of way? Mario hasn’t so much as looked at me like I’m sexy in months, and now I just…I gotta know, you know?”

Bowser swallowed, trying to figure out the best thing he could say. She was walking towards him slowly, swaying her hips back and forth in a seductive manner, and flashing him eyes of lust that he’d only dreamed he would get to see. “I…I um…”

“I really wanna know what you think about me because…well, can I admit something to you, Bowsey?” Peach asked when she was close enough to him, reaching forward and tapping at his chest playfully.

“S-sure?”

“I think that…well…I think I’m in lo-”

Peach was cut off by a loud humming sound from nearby, Peach jumping at the sound of it as she fell backwards into the water. Bowser helped her up only to find her laughing, Peach leaving the pool past him to grab for a phone nearby. He watched her carefully climb the stairs, fully aware of her own inebriation, and she flashed him a quick little smile before she picked up the phone.

She was speaking just quiet enough for Bowser to not hear her, but he didn’t need to hear her to understand that the call was not going well. She answered the phone with her usual chipper self at first, but as the call continued, her expression slowly turned somber, as though she were just told someone had died. She briefly pleaded with whoever was on the other end of the phone before her head hung low, and as she said her final words to whoever she was talking to her head remained angled towards the floor.

The click of the phone resting in its cradle echoed throughout the mostly silent chamber of the room, Bowser still focused solely on Peach as she hung there, defeated.

“Is…is everything alright, Peach?” Bowser asked as she finally turned towards him. It was only when she held her head up that he noticed her normally bright blue eyes seemed dull, her sullen expression already telling him everything he needed to know about her mood. “Who was one the phone?”

“It…it was Director Miyamoto,” Peach said with a cracking, grief stricken voice as she looked away from Bowser. She began to rub her arm as though she were caught in the act of doing something duplicitous, and Bowser could swear he noticed tears beginning to well up in the corners of her eyes.

“What…did he say?”

Peach sniffed loudly, rubbing her eyes briefly before she forced herself to smile before she began walking out of the room, making it look like she was just leaving to change out of her swimsuit. “H-he was just calling to tell us that there’s been a…change to the script…”

“A change?” Bowser asked as he stepped out of the hot tub, following her to learn more. “What kind of change?”

“Oh…you know…just that Mario has apparently requested that…that you and I not have so many scenes together, that’s all!”

“WHAT?!” Bowser shouted, Peach shutting herself into a changing room as Bowser waited outside. “What do you mean he’s requested a change?! And how will we not have scenes together?! The whole point of the film is showcasing what’s been really going on all along!”

“M-Mario suggested that…Pauline be given a bigger role since she was such a breakout star for Odyssey,” Peach replied from behind the door, her trembling voice betraying her attempt at a chipper tone. “He…he thinks it’ll m-make more sense and…Director Miyamoto apparently agreed…They’re changing the script so that you and Pauline have secretly been working together all along...because Pauline wants the throne for herself…”

“So…what does that mean…for us?”

Peach took a long time to respond, the silence hammering against the door that separated the two of them. “It…it means w-we don’t have anymore rehearsals to…together…and that you’ll be working w-with Pauline starting tomorrow…”

Bowser stared at the door as he felt his heart begin to break. This was his chance to get closer to Peach, and it’s been ripped from him! “Why would he do this?!” Bowser angrily whispered out, clenching his at his sides as he let out a low, guttural growl.

Peach sniffed loudly on the other side of the door, Bowser’s heart skipping a beat at the thought of her being as hurt by this as he is. “Director Miyamoto is just doing what he thinks is best for the film…”

“I wasn’t talking about him,” Bowser shouted as he slammed a fist against the wall, not hard enough to leave any sort of marking or dent but still enough to shake the whole wall. “I meant _Mario_! He just can’t be satisfied with someone else _maybe_ sharing the spotlight with him, can he?! I should have _known_ he’d try and pull something like this after what he said about the supposed ‘script changes’ to Odyssey!”

There was a long silence as Bowser calmed himself down, fighting back the tears that were threatening to escape him as he tried to thin of what to do. He had just as much sway over the direction of the film as Mario, right? He could probably try and convince Director Miyamoto that the original direction was much better! Or better yet…Peach could convince Mario to revert the change!

…Right?

“What if you talked to Mario about not making the change?” Bowser said softly against the door, trying to verbalize his thoughts to Peach. “If he can convince Director Miyamoto to not change the script…then maybe we can continue to work together…right?”

The long silence that met him worried Bowser. He could only hear his thumping heart in his chest and his ragged, troubled breathing. Peach was being inextricably quiet, and he knew that what he was going to hear next he wasn’t going to like.

“It’s…it’s what Mario wants, so…”

Bowser felt his heart finally shatter. He could hear the soft, hushed sobs that Peach was trying to hide from him, her head likely buried in her knees as she quietly cried to herself…but in that moment he couldn’t muster the strength needed to try and comfort her. He simply stared at the door for what felt like ages before he finally turned away from the door, leaving Peach to cry silently by herself.

He lumbered slowly out of Peach’s house, making his way down the driveway and out into the city streets on his way home, his head hung low as he walked quietly through the night. It was only when he finally reached his home a few hours later that he allowed himself a moment to shed a single tear, but in doing so opened the floodgates.

Bowser fell to his floor as he sobbed loudly into the night, eventually falling asleep drenched in his own tears. He promised himself the next morning to not lash out at Mario or hold it against Peach…but for that night and that night alone…he felt like he was truly going to die without being loved.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading. Please let me know what you think, and expect more to come very soon!
> 
> Want to Commission your own work? Message me on Twitter or shoot me an email for more details!
> 
> @Sir_Skullian - https://twitter.com/Sir_Skullian  
> sir.skullian@gmail.com

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading. Please let me know what you think, and expect more to come very soon!
> 
> Want to Commission your own work? Message me on Twitter or shoot me an email for more details!
> 
> @Sir_Skullian - https://twitter.com/Sir_Skullian  
> sir.skullian@gmail.com


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